Neverland's Pan
by SamCaps
Summary: When James Hook, the ten year old to-be Captain Hook, sets sail with his father on a route that takes them straight through an unknown Island inhabited by Peter Pan, the boy who never grows old. Pan looks young, but he's a force to be reckoned with.
1. Chapter 1

The boy seemed so real. He had been right there. He wore tattered green pants that ended just below his knees. His shirt was green, like the rest of his apparel. He wore a crown of leaves on his head, dotted with berries. His sly grin seemed all too realistic… and all too menacing.

James shook his head. It was just a dream. The boy wasn't real.

The ship rocked back and forth, but James had no trouble getting out of bed and getting dressed. He looked at the clock. His father would be waiting for him. It was nearly breakfast.

He left his cabin, and climbed the ladder to the deck of the ship, the _Roger_. It was his father's ship, and he hoped to one day captain it. James didn't think he was ready though. He was only ten, which was not old enough to captain a ship.

"Morning!" His father called from the forecastle, a part of the ship near the foremast that was raised higher than the main deck.

James hopped up the stair to join his father, who was eating bread off a silver platter.

"Hackshank!" the captain called to one of the cabin boys, who had been trying to sneak past unnoticed. "Fetch my boy some bread!"

The cabin boy scowled, but hurried to obey his orders.

Once Hackshank returned with the bread, James dug in. He was used to very little amounts of food. He had spent his whole life sailing, where there wasn't much to go around.

"Excuse me sir," one of the crewmembers said, "A mermaid has arrived with news from the inland."

"Great," the captain said. He turned to James. "Finish up boy. Just leave the plate on the deck. Hackshank will clean it up."

James stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth, and followed his father down the ladder to the hold, where there was a glass square, like a cage, specifically made so mermaids could enter the ship without water getting in.

A mermaid was floating on the other side of the glass. She had short-cropped brown hair, which stuck up like a porcupine's quills. Her scales were an orangey color, with tads of pink and blue. As her tail whipped back and forth to keep her floating, it shimmered and shifted. James had seen many mermaids, but this one was especially beautiful.

Her frown was the only thing ruining her otherwise flawless face. Once she was sure she had the captain's attention, she began speaking.

"Ahead, many kilometers, there is an island. You must bear port soon in order to avoid it. There are rumors of mysterious shipwrecks and stolen rations around that island. It is best to stay away."

The mermaid's voice had a musical ring to it, like a piano playing words.

"If I am to make it to Shendale before our rations run out, my only choice is to go straight ahead. Our rations are low enough as it is, and that would delay us two, maybe three days," James' father said.

"I have seen the wreckage myself!" the mermaid said in a last desperate attempt, "It's a boy! A flying boy who never grows up! He wears a crown of leaves and calls himself Pan!"


	2. Chapter 2

The boy! The crown of leaves! It all fit. Pan. That was his name.

"James, leave us," his father said.

"But father! I know that boy! I've seen him!" James said.

"You've seen him? Where?" His father asked, his mustache twitching impatiently.

"In a dream! He was there! With the crown of leaves!"

"Go," the captain ordered.

"But Dad…"

"Go," the captain said, and that was final.

James stomped away from the mermaid, and climbed up the ladder, slamming the trapdoor shut behind him.

James collapsed on his bed. His father was stubborn. He wouldn't turn the ship, James knew it. That meant they were heading straight towards the boy. Pan.

James stayed on his bed, listening to the crash of the waves against the side of the ship, until he dozed off. Waking with a start, James realized it was night, and he had slept through the best part of the day. The sun was setting. His stomach growled as he realized he had missed lunch. The voices of the crewmembers raucous singing told him he had missed dinner too.

Remembering Pan, James wondered if the Mermaid was still in the hold. He slipped out of bed and sneaked down the hallway, hoping not to attract any attention.

He reached the hold without much fuss, besides a scowl from Hackshank, and was relieved to find the mermaid was still there, running her hands through her spiky hair.

"I knew you'd come, but I didn't think it would take you so long," she said irritably.

"Sorry, but–hey! How'd you know I would come back?

"I could tell. You believe me. I know it."

"Do you believe I saw him in my dreams?" James asked.

"I don't know. Anything's possible. I mean, you're a Hook. Your family is known to be magical. Maybe you can see the future."

"I dunno," James said, "Uncle Archie said nobody's been magical in the family since Great Aunt Jane, and she had always been a bit of a wacko."

"I think all of you Hook's are wackos. I mean, look what your father is doing. Steering you right into death itself!"

"I need to stop him," James said, "I just don't know how…"

He was cut off by the sound of yelling from the crow's nest.

"LAND HO!"


End file.
